Former Deputy Chief Denied Payments

Board Votes 3-1 Against Disability

MADISON — Former Deputy Police Chief Carl Jordan, who was awarded $225,000 from the town in January to settle a lawsuit, will not be getting any additional disability payments.

That was the decision of the police pension committee, which voted 3-1 Monday to reject Jordan's request for $27,632 annually.

Jordan claims he suffers from a degenerative back problem. Committee members, however, denied his claim, saying Jordan's disability did not interfere with his work as deputy chief.

Had the committee approved his request, Jordan would have received monthly payments totaling one-half of the $55,264 annual salary he earned as deputy chief.

``The board feels that you are not totally incapacitated from performing the regular duties as Deputy Chief in Madison. We wish you good luck in your future endeavors,'' committee Chairman and Selectman Charles L. Cottrell said in a letter to Jordan dated Monday.

Cottrell left on vacation Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

The board's decision to deny Jordan's request came six months after he received the near-quarter-million dollar settlement and, in exchange, agreed to drop a lawsuit against the town. In the lawsuit, Jordan said town officials discriminated against him because of his disability when he was passed over for the chief's position in 1992.

The settlement came only weeks after town officials eliminated Jordan's job and passed him over for chief a second time in November 1997.

Jordan's lawyer, Chip Walsh of New Haven, said Tuesday that his client is considering appealing the town's decision not to grant the disability payments. He might even file a new lawsuit on Jordan's behalf, Walsh said.

``It basically comes down to the fact that Selectman Rylander did not want my client to have a pension and fought the issue,'' Walsh said.

Rylander is on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

Walsh said he was astounded that committee members made a distinction between the duties of a deputy chief and police officer. As deputy chief, Jordan still had to perform an officer's duties, he said.

``They've been discriminating against my client for several years,'' Walsh said. ``They're not looking at whether he's qualified [to collect disability payments]. The selectmen are saying we don't want him to have any more money.''

Jordan, of Guilford, was a 10-year veteran of the Madison police department. He was studying for a master's degree in marriage and family therapy and is ``entertaining offers for employment,'' Walsh said.